Chapter 6
“Shit. Fuck.Fuck!They got him, man! They got Carlos!” Marcus spoke too loudly.
Parked in the Emergency Room loading and unloading area, he and Marcus watched the scene from their rented SUV.
“Yes. They did,” he answered his remaining partner quietly.
“So, it’s over right? We’re calling it off?”
He turned to face Marcus. “Why would I do that?”
The guy looked back at him as though he had gone insane. “Why would you—Carlos is dead, man! The whole plan hinged on him grabbing the woman for us. We’re screwed.”
“Actually...” he spoke calmly. “This works to our advantage.”
“How in the fuck do you figure?”
“Drive,” he ordered Marcus. “Take us to Carlos’s apartment.”
Forehead covered in sweat, Marcus argued. “Why the hell do you want to go there?”
“I’ll explain on the way, but we need to hurry.”
In an uncharacteristic moment of agreement, Marcus put the SUV into drive.
With one more glance at the flashing lights, he started to smile. Yes, Carlos’s death would work out just fine.
****
“Where is she?”
Sitting sideways on the hospital bed, her legs dangling over the edge, Olivia heard Jake’s voice seconds before the curtain giving her privacy flew to the side.
He stepped into the room, his presence instantly sucking all of the air out of the tiny space.
The expression on his face changed quickly from relief, to guilt, and then finally, rage. His gaze moved up to the icepack she was holding against her forehead.
“Liv.” He rushed to her side, gently cupping the uninjured side of her face with his hand. “Baby, are you okay? How do you feel?”
“Like someone slammed my head into a van.”
She tried to smile, but her joke fell flat when her voice cracked at the end.
Slowly reaching up, Jake pulled her hand and the ice pack away. When his eyes found the swollen bruise there, a muscle bulged in his jaw. He looked like he wanted to kill.
“Sweetheart, I’m about a second away from completely losing it, here. Don’t bullshit me. What did the doctors say?”
